On January 30, 2016, John
Reflects
Several years ago, I got the idea for
us to write an article for a Salvation Army (SA) publication. For it to be
appropriate, it needed a Salvation Army tie in. General William Booth, founder
of the SA lived right next door to the Bowery Mission, in the Borough of Manhattan,
New York City. The Mission has served the homeless and hungry since 1879. Some
say the term “skid row” came from this area. The Mission Statement from their
web site says, “The Bowery Mission is called to minister in New York City to
men, women, and children caught in the cycles of poverty, hopelessness and
dependencies of many kinds, and to see their lives transformed to hope, joy,
lasting productivity and eternal life through the power of Jesus Christ.” https://www.bowery.org/
While at Christian college, Dana did
an internship at the Bowery Mission. One weekend I went up to visit him. I
remember the stain glass windows. They were dynamic, and portrayed the account
of the Prodigal Son. While all of us who call Jesus Christ our Saviour have a
coming to Christ story, some of us have salvation stories that make it easier
to relate to the Prodigal than others. While it doesn’t matter how we got
saved or what caused us to turn to Jesus, when the scripture tells us that the
Prodigal was so burdened by life and down in the pit that he would have eaten
the food of pigs if he could, some of us can more easily relate than others.
And then to see this Biblical account come alive in stained glass, is to make
one weep. (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+15%3A11-24&version=NASB )
To this day, we both have a soft
spot in our hearts for Rescue Missions. Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. The
Atlantic City Rescue. The Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission in Philadelphia. And
the list goes on. Many of those helped by rescue missions only need a temporary
helping hand (like I did for several weeks back in the 1980s when I was
homeless and stayed at a Salvation Army shelter for a couple of weeks). Food.
Shelter. Sometimes medical care. Refuge from abuse. And of course the Gospel
are given without cost to those in need. And speaking of need, most Rescue
Missions can always use a volunteer helping hand or a cash offering.
For background reading on Rescue
Missions, here is the web site http://www.agrm.org/agrm/default.asp for the Association of Gospel Rescue
Missions. This is a quote from their opening page, “Since the late 1800s,
rescue missions have been offering radical hospitality in Jesus’ name to people
who are dealing with hunger, homelessness, abuse, and addiction.” How
often do we hear the word “radical” today in our churches in this context,
where the minister/pastor/teacher/reverend/priest/messianic rabbi challenges us
to “radical” anything for Christ?
While we’re told that it is the
preaching of the Word that leads to repentance (Rom 10:8-13), sometimes the
Word might come packaged in a different wrapper, like stain glass. But when
it’s opened, it can be just as powerful.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dana emailed on April 7,
2012
Hey John,
Talk about a "blast from the
past!" From what I hear, what used to be skid row is now a trendy,
semi-Bohemian section, with its dingy flop houses having been turned into
expensive loft apartments and studios and exclusive shops????????????? I guess
that is the way of things, but where do the Ruby's of the world and her male
counterparts go now?
I've heard that the mission is still open
and is sustaining the feeding and clothing of indigents, and also has programs
for homeless men and women, but every photo of the area I've seen recently,
looks much more "sanitized" than when I was stationed there. Up and
coming yuppies just don't like the sight and smell of the less fortunate, so
I'm sure the authorities are "routing" them to a more "appropriate"
area, where "nice people" do not have to be confronted by them. There
were times I might have bet money that the words of C.T. Studd could be heard
echoing in the icy winds which blew down the Bowery in winter:
"Some may wish to live within the sound of a church or chapel
bell...I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell."
I wonder if those words can still be heard
blowing around there? Or, is there a government program that takes care of that
now? Maybe Christians aren't supposed to get dirty any more. Not a lot of
Christians understand me when I tell them that sometimes I miss the smell of
urine. It was the scent of job security.
The Bowery Mission was a door or two up
from Booth House #2, named for General William Booth, the founder of the
Salvation Army. It's been a while since I heard someone say with the conviction
of General Booth (who said):
"While women weep, as they do now, I'll fight; while children go
hungry, as they do now I'll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and
out, as they do now, I'll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is
a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without
the light of God, I'll fight, I'll fight to the very end!"
The spirit of "rescue" used to
be thick, and one often caught oneself remembering the words of Fanny Crosby,
"Rescue the perishing, care for the dying...." I wonder if anyone
walking the Bowery hums that song anymore? Unto God, may it be so, and God
forgive me for not humming it as often as I used to.
The stained glass windows above the famous
double "Red Doors" were, as you mentioned a depiction of the parable
of the Prodigal son. At night when the lights were on inside, the soft glow
illuminated the four panes which made up the scene, often reminded me in a way
of a lighthouse--a beacon for those adrift and in danger of crashing into the
rocks.
Standing down on the street looking up the
first of the four windows on the left, the wayward son is shown looking
downcast while tending the pigs. Below the picture it says, "And when he
came to himself he said."
Looking right, the next two windows which
are in the middle, while separately framed, the two center panes make up one
picture of the Prodigal on his knees approaching his father, with the saying
below "I will arise and go to my father," and the adjoining window
shows the father reaching out to his son, on his knees in the window before,
with the saying "He saw him and had compassion."
The last window on the far right shows the
father embracing the son with the caption below, "My son was dead and is
alive again."
Only God knows how many "saw the
light" through those beautifully touching panes. For those who were lost,
separated from loved ones, maimed and crippled by sin and dissipation, for the
ugly, the dirty, the forgotten, the lonely, the sick, the demented, the dying,
and the damned, that soft, warm glow shining through that scene was the
proverbial "candle in the window," signaling "home."
Forgiveness lives here. Mercy lives here. Acceptance lives here. Love lives
here. Jesus lives here, and you may live here too.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to
remember. May I never forget.
Love you, Brother,
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